Herbert calling lawmakers into session for homeless effort

Wednesday , September 13, 2017 - 4:12 PM

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Gov. Gary Herbert is planning to call Utah lawmakers into a special legislative session next week as part of an effort to curb violence and drug trafficking in a Salt Lake City neighborhood near an overcrowded downtown homeless shelter.

Herbert’s spokesman Paul Edwards said Wednesday he could not offer details about what the governor will ask lawmakers to consider but said more information will be released in the coming days.

State officials, including House Speaker Greg Hughes and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, have spent the summer working on a new effort around Salt Lake’s shelter that includes a stepped-up police presence, arrests, drug treatment and job training and placement.

The governor calls Utah’s Legislature into a one-day special session almost every year so lawmakers can pass measures outside their 45-day regular session every late January to mid-March.